Airbus Launches Long-Range A321neo Version

By: Jens Flottau published in aviationweek.com,Jan 13, 2015

Airbus has formally launched a long range version of the A321 with a 97-ton maximum take-off weight (MTOW). 

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is the first to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for 30 of the type, making it the aircraft’s launch customer. 

First deliveries of the new Airbus A321neoversion are planned for 2019. The aircraft will be equipped with a third auxiliary center fuel tank and could fly around 500-nm farther than the A321ceo with a regular 93.5 MTOW (and only two additional fuel tanks). For the aircraft, Airbus now assumes a standard cabin layout for 206 passengers. Airbus claims the calculated 4,000-nm range even exceeds the 3,850 nm of the winglet-equipped Boeing 757-200W. 

Currently, the longest route flown by the Boeing 757 is United’s New York-Berlin service, which at slightly more than 4,000 nm can only be flown with less-than-maximum payload. United has 169 seats on the transatlantic 757s.

Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy sees a Boeing 757-replacement market for the 469 Boeing aircraft still flying, plus another 500 more. “We are burning up to 30% less fuel than the 757,” said at the Airbus annual press conference in Toulouse.

Airbus initially pitched the aircraft to airlines in a premium 164-seat layout with 20 seats in business class, 30 in premium-economy class, and 114 in economy. But discussions with potential customers showed that many airlines are interested in higher seat counts. In the premium configuration, the A321neo LR range decreases slightly to 3,904 nm because of extreme assumptions in terms of weight per passenger.

The 206-seat configuration assumes 16 seats in business class at a 36-in. pitch and 190 in economy at 30 inches. “The interest has gone beyond what we initially thought,” A320-Family Product Marketing Director Arnaud Demeusois said. 

Airbus is targeting airlines that currently fly the Boeing 757 on long-range routes, as well those that would fly such routes but cannot for lack of a suitable aircraft. Key routes defining the aircraft’s needed capabilities were U.S. East Coast to Central Europe, Europe to the Middle East, North to South America, Europe to West Africa, and Australia to South Asia.

One of the key segments in addition to transatlantic services is the market for flights departing Miami for South America. The aircraft can reach all key destinations in Brazil from the American airlines hub in Miami.

Airbus believes the aircraft will be complementary to widebodies and will not take traffic away from existing long-haul operations. The manufacturer sees an opportunity to attract current narrowbody operators that are evaluating the addition of long-haul routes, but would like to avoid the big step of adding widebody aircraft.

The Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) concept on offer for the A321 will form the base for the aircraft’s new version. Airbus is offering a new, optional exit-door configuration in which door 2 is removed and replaced by a double-overwing exit. Also in this configuration, door 3 is moved aft. Some minor changes to the wing are also expected, leading to a weight increase below 100 kg. The standard-range variant and the 97-ton MTOW version would share the same build standard—thus shorter-haul operators will suffer a small weight penalty. Customers who have opted for the older door positioning are not affected.

ACF gives Airbus and the airlines more flexibility to configure the cabin for long-haul requirements. Boeing 757s are operated with relatively small business-class cabins, because they typically end in front of door 2 to reduce complexity in the cabin. 

However, in the case of the A321neo ACF layout, there is no more door 2 and larger premium cabins can be installed. The long-haul A321neo will also be equipped with movable bins that have been launched as an option earlier this year.

Because of the addition of three center fuel tanks, Airbus is losing significant volume in the baggage hold. So airline route calculations for the A321neo will have to take into account that, beyond passenger bags, hardly any cargo can be transported. 

Rolls-Royce And Airbus Near Accord Over A380neo

By: Guy Norris published in aviationweek.com, Dec 15, 2014

Airbus is accelerating its studies of an upgraded A380 and, after talks held last month with engine makers in Toulouse, appears to be closing on an initial agreement with Rolls-Royce.

The engine manufacturer is strongly supporting plans for both the A380neo and the potential A380-900 stretch. According to industry sources, Rolls-Royce is discussing a variety of all-new engine options ranging from derivatives of the A350’s XWB-84/97 to the future Advance project unveiled earlier this year. Until recently it was widely believed Rolls-Royce may be in pole position for a possible slot on the upgraded A380 because of its victory on the A330neo with the Trent 7000, a similarly-rated engine as the current unit. This engine is due to debut on the Airbus twin in late 2017 and is derived from the ‘TEN’ version of the Trent 1000, now under final development for the Boeing 787. However sources say the proposed A380neo project will require more power than the Trent 7000 which is rated at between 68,000 lb. and 72,000 lb. for the A330-800neo and -900neo.

Although Rolls-Royce declines to comment on the A380 situation, the transition to a potentially greater thrust engine could provide for higher gross weights or presage the long-anticipated development of the A380-900 stretch. The development cost for the baseline A380neo is estimated at around $2.5 billion, primarily because of the structural revisions required for the wing, and is expected to take around four years based on previous experiences such as the A340-500/600.

The push to launch the A380neo is backed by Emirates Airline, the largest single customer for the model. Emirates CEO Tim Clark, who says the carrier could “definitely” order as many as 70 of the re-engined variants if launched, is also poised to announce the engine selection for 50 standard A380-800s ordered at the 2013 Dubai Air Show. Although Emirates operates the world’s largest fleet of GP7200-powered A380s, Rolls-Royce is bidding aggressively for the supplemental fleet order and appears to be growing in confidence that it can break the GP7200 stranglehold on Emirates.

The U.K. manufacturer currently competes for the A380 with the Trent 900 against the joint General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200, but is eager to build on its relationship with Airbus where it has exclusive engine deals on the new A350 family and recently launched Trent 7000-powered A330neo. The parent companies of the GP7200, on the other hand, cite an uncertain business case for the upgraded A380 and appear reluctant to make the substantial investment such a venture would require, despite holding more than 50% of the existing market.

The Engine Alliance has outlined upgrade plans which could produce near term fuel savings of 0.5% to 1%, but still well below the 10% to 12% thought to have been outlined by the Airbus requirement. Even more comprehensive upgrades for the GP7200, including a larger fan and an additional low pressure turbine stage, would gain only around 5% and be “cost prohibitive” in the absence of a compelling business case says the Engine Alliance. The difference between an incremental upgrade and an all-new engine therefore represents a financial gulf across which neither GE nor Pratt appears willing to step.

Speaking to Aviation Week, GE Aviation president David Joyce says “If you ask me if the business case closes for us to drop the GP (GP7200) and put a new engine up under the A380, I would tell you we can’t make that business case close. We just can’t, there’s just not enough incremental sales around the world that would make that case close.” GE is currently developing the Leap narrowbody engine with Snecma and is finalizing the design of the GE9X for Boeing’s 777X twinjet. “Today if someone came to me with a proposal to put a brand new engine underneath that wing — I just don’t see that as being a priority for us,” adds Joyce.

Pratt, like GE, is also deeply mired in the development of the PW1000G geared turbofan family, and says it can ill-afford an additional commitment. United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes says Pratt is unlikely to support the development of a new widebody engine for some time. Commenting at an investor conference Hayes says the company “cannot continue to afford to invest at these levels.”

Rolls-Royce harvests a decade of research for new engine projects

By: MURDO MORRISON published in flightglobal.com, Oct 1 2014

As Rolls-Royce prepares to build and begin testing next year its seventh member of the Trent family – the 7000 for the Airbus A330neo – it is harvesting the fruits of a decade’s worth of research and development projects into two studies that could form the basis for a new generation of widebody – and even possibly narrowbody – engines in the 2020s.

The UK propulsion specialist wants to develop technology and products that will secure a 50% share of the twin-aisle market, as well as – perhaps more ambitiously – help it break back into the growing single-aisle sector, vacated when it abandoned the International Aero Engines consortium in 2012, just when a host of new narrowbody programmes were arriving on the market.

The company earlier this year revealed its Advance and UltraFan designs. Although both are far from being formal programmes, they are based on the three-shaft structure of the successful widebody Trent family, in particular the Airbus A350’s Trent XWB. R-R says they could, in theory, be ready to enter service as production engines as early as 2020 and 2025, respectively.

R-R says Advance and UltraFan are about highlighting its progress in a range of technologies, from composite fans to lower-emissions combustion systems. The company’s timescale for bringing these to market, however, means the engine studies are more than simply “what-might-be” concepts. It has already proved, or is currently testing, many of the engines’ novel elements.

The advance’s carbon/titanium fan system has been tested on a Trent 1000 at the Stennis centre

Rolls-Royce

Advance and UltraFan are not just Trents with tweaks, stresses Alan Newby, chief engineer, future programmes and technology. Although they rely on the same three-shaft architecture, the first of the two engines, Advance, will have a new core – with a larger high-pressure compressor and smaller intermediate compressor – as well as a composite fan and casing.

Other changes include an adaptive cooling system, a lower NOx combustor, “dynamic sealing” to minimise leakage and a wider use of ceramic-matrix composites. “Advance is the next generation in three-shaft engines and brings together a lot of the technologies that we’ve been working on for the past 10 years. There are a lot of differences. The HP and IP compressors are very different,” he says.

There is a clear commercial goal too. “We are getting the technology bricks in place, and when we get the call to develop [Advance] for an aircraft programme, we will,” adds Newby. “We won’t launch a programme until we have a requirement, but we think we will have de-risked all the technologies by 2015 or 2016 and be ready with a new application from 2020 onwards.”

The test or “slave” engine for many of the new core technologies is a Trent XWB, with its core removed and replaced by the trial HP and IP system. “It’s a good platform for testing. We have quite a big project team up and running on it,” says Newby. R-R has started machining components for the engine and other elements have been ordered from the supply chain.

Although the company has no plans as yet to fly the adapted Trent XWB independently, it will undertake ground tests next year. Separately, a carbon/titanium fan system, which will be used on both Advance and UltraFan, has just completed a phase of testing – on a Trent 1000 engine – at the company’s outdoor jet engine test facility at the John C Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

While R-R plans to test elements of its Advance engine separately, it intends to build a whole engine demonstrator for the UltraFan, with a vision of it taking to the air on a flying testbed by the end of the decade. “Given the amount of changes, we would need to verify it in flight,” says Newby. “Four or five years before entry into service is when you’d want to be maturing the technologies.”

Several engines are dedicated to research

Rolls-Royce

These technologies include a variable pitch fan, with gearbox, and a high-speed IP turbine, as well as possible adaptations to the core. “UltraFan takes the core configuration we will have developed for Advance and adds a lower-speed fan,” explains Newby. “This turns at a relatively low speed, so it makes sense to add a gearbox.”

Although UltraFan retains the Trent’s three-shaft compression system, the enhanced IP turbine drives the fan via a power gearbox, allowing the LP turbine to be eliminated. The gearbox is “critical technology”, says Newby. “We have experience through our work on the JSF [Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter] and elsewhere on the military side. We are not starting from scratch.”

The engine manufacturer has already allocated more than a dozen engines to the various technology projects that have led to Advance and UltraFan. Many of these have been supported with research and development funding from the EU and R-R’s “home” governments: the UK, USA and Germany.

Its ALPS study, intended to come up with a lightweight LP system, has used three Trent 1000s. The first phase of engine testing was completed in 2013 and the second has just finished at Stennis. A third Trent 1000, fitted with the composite fan, has been shipped to Tucson, Arizona, for flight testing on a Boeing 747 by the end of the year.

A second project, EFE, running since 2010, focuses on “hot end technologies” and also uses the Trent 1000. Testing on a fourth engine has just ended at R-R’s Bristol facility. A final study, ALECSYS, is about developing a “robust lean-burn combustion system” and involves flight testing two Trent 1000s converted with a lean-burn combustor in 2015 and 2016.

R-R claims that the bundle of technologies on Advance and UltraFan could improve efficiency by 20% and 25% respectively, compared with the first Trent, the Trent 700. Newby adds that the technology is scalable and could cover a range of thrusts from 30,000lb (134kN) to more than 100,000lb, a much broader band than the current family’s 53,000-95,000lb range.

However, the company is quick to point out that this does not offer a direct clue to how it might re-enter the single-aisle market in the next decade. “Scaling down is possible, and in theory these technologies could form the basis of a new narrowbody engine,” says Newby. “But this is not necessarily the route we will take.”

Rolls-Royce makes progress with Trent 7000

By: MURDO MORRISON published in flightglobal.com, Oct 2 2014

Although understandably coy before Airbus’s Farnborough announcement that it was launching the A330neo, Rolls-Royce was by July quite far along the path of finalising the design for the Trent 7000, the 72,000lb (320kN) thrust engine that will exclusively power the re-engined widebody. Rolls-Royce already has a more than 50% share of engines on in-service A330s, with its original Trent 700.

The 7000 is based on the latest iteration of the Trent 1000 for the Boeing 787, the Trent 1000-TEN, and includes features such as weight-saving blisks in the compressors and a system that integrates engine dressings into composite raft-like structures. The first engine will be built and ground tested next year. Flight test engines will follow in 2016 ahead of the first actual flight test in 2017, with entry into service slated for late 2017.

Other changes compared with the original Trent 700 for the Airbus A330 – launched in March 1995 – include a 2.84m (112in) fan, rather than a 97in one that helps double the bypass ratio to 10 and improve specific fuel consumption by 10%. “For us, basing it on the TEN makes it a very low-risk programme,” says Peter Johnston, head of customer marketing.

The bigger fan means the engine and Aircelle-designed nacelle have to be moved forwards and upwards, compared with the Airbus A330’s Trent 700, to retain the same level of ground clearance and avoid “sucking in too much dirt”, says Johnston. The big architectual difference with the TEN is a new external gearbox because Airbus’s system is different to Boeing’s.

The engine manufacturer has a full dedicated project team in place for the 7000, which can pull in expertise from both the Ten and the Trent 700 teams, he says. The engine gives R-R itself a foot in two camps too, with a competitive position – against General Electric’s GEnx – on the Boeing 787, as well as an exclusive arrangement on the Dreamliner’s new direct competitor.

Airbus aims to line-fit A350 with lithium battery from 2016

By: DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW published in flightglobal.com, Sep 30, 2014

Airbus is to work towards offering a lithium battery as the line-fit standard for its A350-900 from 2016, following certification of the type with nickel-cadmium cells.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted a type certificate for the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 powered jet, with US FAA approval set to follow shortly.

While Airbus had originally designed the A350 to draw electrical power from lithium batteries, it deferred this plan after concerns emerged over the use of such batteries in the Boeing 787.

“There was a period when we weren’t sure the certification requirement for a lithium solution would have been stable,” says A350 programme chief Didier Evrard. “We didn’t want to take any risks.”

Airbus conducted tests of both battery types on its A350 prototype fleet although the last development aircraft, as the certification standard model, retained a nickel-cadmium battery.

“We gave a little time to the authorities to review the certification requirements for a lithium solution,” says Evrard.

“We didn’t have to change our initial design – the certification basis we’d taken into account, ourselves, was not changed.”

He says that Airbus considers its design “absolutely” safe and that, with the certification basis in place, it can progress towards completing the certification work on a lithium option for customers, which it intends to have in place in 2016.

The aircraft has been approved to operate at a maximum altitude of 43,100ft.

EASA’s certificate states that the A350 and A330 are “variants of the same type of aircraft” for purposes of pilot type ratings. It adds that the aircraft is cleared to transport 385 passengers with its basic exit configuration, and up to 440 with an optional exit layout.

EASA Certifies Airbus A350-900

By: Jens Flottau, published in aviationweek.com, Oct 2, 2014

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued type certification for the Airbus A350-900, clearing the way for first delivery of the aircraft in the coming weeks.

 We dealt with a very mature aircraft,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky stated on Tuesday. “Airbus and EASA have learnt from experience and have established pragmatic working methods which have proved to be the recipe for a successful type certification and the way forward for future certification programs.” The A350 was the first ever all-new Airbus aircraft certified by EASA.

Airbus expects to also receive U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approvals “very shortly,” according to Airbus A350 Chief Engineer Gordon McConnell. “It is in process just now, but not completed yet.” McConnell does not foresee any issues. The initial Extended Twin Operations (ETOPS) clearance has also not yet been published by EASA and McConnell believes it may take several more weeks to get there. He says ETOPS will be “perfectly adequate” for the needs of the operators. The EASA certification document indicates that there will be an ETOPS 180-minute approval and a separate approval for ETOPS beyond that limit, neither of which has been issued yet.

Airbus plans to deliver the first A350-900 to Qatar Airwaysbefore the end of the year. Program Chief Didier Evrard said the exact date will be defined jointly with Qatar Airways in the coming weeks. While flight and certification tests are concluded, Airbus is focusing on familiarizing Qatar Airways with the customization features it has chosen. That will require “a number of flights,” but Evrard said it is difficult to predict how many and how many flight hours that may involve. “If I was a golf player, I would say we are on the green.”

Evrard also confirmed that Airbus will return to lithium-ion batteries—all A350s will be delivered with those batteries beginning 2016. As a consequence of the battery fires experienced on the Boeing 787, Airbus decided to temporarily return to the more conventional nickel-cadmium batteries, because it was uncertain that certification requirements might change and it did not want to take any schedule risks. It turns out now that Airbus did not need to change its original design. “We were fully aware of the risks inherent in the (battery) design,” Evrard said. “We have put measures in place to mitigate that to zero.”

The A350-900 has been certified by EASA for a maximum-passenger number of 440, depending on the exit configuration. That will require a minimum of eight cabin crew members.

The maximum take-off weight (MTOW) for the basic variant is at 268 tons, but EASA has cleared an increase of up to 275 tons, which Airbus currently does not offer. According to Evrard, the A350-900 is about three tons heavier than initially planned. The aircraft is certified to fly up to a maximum operating altitude of 43,100 ft.

EASA has also concluded that the A350-900 “is determined to be a variant of theA330/340 series aircraft” and, more precisely, it is considered to be “a variant of the A330-200.” Pilots will be able to fly both the Airbus A330 and the A350 with the same type rating.

Suppliers Wary Of Further Narrowbody Rate Increases

By: Sean Broderick, published in aviationweek.com, Oct 2, 2014

Airframe suppliers are comfortable with manufacturers’ plans to push narrowbody production rates up to a combined 100 per month, but express concern that anything beyond that could strain the supply chain or dampen demand after a few years, trigging costly rate fluctuations, a Canaccord Genuity survey reports.

Airbus and Boeing are producing 84 narrowbodies per month—42 each—and have announced plans to go up to the mid-90s combined. Rumblings of 50 per month or more out of Boeing—a move likely to be matched by Airbus—could be supported by suppliers, the survey found. But added demand from emerging programs, like Bombardier’s CSeries, could muddy the waters. Suppliers also expressed doubt that the costly ramp-ups would be sustained for long enough periods to justify the investment needed to get them there.

“This survey raises questions about the sustainability of rates above 100/month for Boeing and Airbus,” Canaccord wrote. “We believe many suppliers are reluctant to invest to support rates above which have been announced for fear that they would be capitalizing for a rate that is not sustainable.”

Despite the long-term concern, suppliers—notably the crucial higher-tier ones—are confident that current and planned production rates are both sustainable and aligned with demand. Structures firms are the “most optimistic,” Canaccord noted, believing that rates exceeding 100 per month are feasible. Their optimism is “closely followed” by material suppliers.

The one supply chain segment expressing concern is interiors suppliers, which face both record production rates and increasing demand for retrofits as carriers capitalize on innovations such as slimline seats and new premium cabin offerings.

“Interior suppliers see the most to worry about with higher narrow-body production rates,” Canaccord said.

777 Rates

Regarding widebody aircraft, suppliers are mixed about whether Boeing will reduce rates before transitioning from the 777 to the 777X. Among the ones that foresee a rate cut, they believe Boeing will provide at least two years’ notice, meaning it will be business as usual well into 2016 at least.

Canaccord notes that it has no evidence that Boeing plans to cut rates and expresses optimism that the manufacturer can bridge the gap without building fewer current-generation models.

“We believe Boeing has 10-15% in pricing it can play with on the 777 before the program crosses the economic threshold whereby a reduction in rates makes more sense than further price concessions,” Canaccord suggested. “We believe investors, and suppliers, are being too pessimistic on the 777, and we still see a [greater than] 50% chance Boeing will be able to bridge the 777 order gap as it transitions to the 777X.”

Boeing is producing 777s at 8.3 per month, a rate it hit in January 2013. In 2011, it bumped rates from five to seven per month. Canaccord is projecting 98 Boeing 777 deliveries this year.

The Airbus A330-to-A330neo transition is more straightforward, Canaccord explained.

“Suppliers largely expect Airbus to eventually announce a reduction to A330 rates as part of its transition from the A330ceo to the A330neo. This is consistent with what Airbus has been signaling,” Canaccord added.

Suppliers expect the current 10-per-month rate to drop to seven per month in 2017-2018, before stepping back up again, Canaccord said.

s this the new Concorde? World’s first supersonic business jet will cost £60m, fly at 1,217mph and travel between London and New York in just THREE hours

By:EMILY PAYNE, published in dailymail.co.uk, Sep 25, 2014

Airbus is teaming up with US-based Aerospace firm Aerion to create a supersonic jet that can fly from London to New York in three hours and from Los Angeles to Tokyo in six.

The Aerion AS2 business jet will fly at 1,217 mph, using proprietary supersonic laminar flow technology – almost as fast as Concorde, which flew at 1,350 mph.

The two companies announced this week that they will be joining forces on the project, sharing ‘capabilities in design, manufacturing and certification’.

Engineers from Airbus’ Defence and Space Division will work with Aerion at its base in Reno, Nevada.

The cost of the AS2 is thought to be more than $100million – over £60million – and Aerion hopes test flights will begin by 2019.

The jet, which will fly between major global cities, will be made mostly from carbon fibre composite material.

The cost of the AS2 is thought to be more than $100million – over £60million – and test flights will begin by 2019

Design features include wings which reduce overall drag by 20 per cent, allowing for lower fuel consumption and longer range and a luxurious 30-foot-long cabin will seat up to 12 passengers.

Aerion chairman Robert M. Bass, said in a statement: ‘This is a major step forward for Aerion. It puts us solidly on track toward our objective of certifying the world’s first supersonic business jet in 2021.’

After 27 years of service, British Airways retired the Airbus’ Concorde airliner – which travelled at more than twice the speed of sound –  in Ocotber 2003, signalling the end of the supersonic passenger jet.

Interior: A 30-foot-long cabin will seat up to 12 passengers in business-style comfort

Modern commercial long-haul jets typically cruise at speeds between 480 and 560 mph

The plan is to certify the plane in 2021 with first delivery in 2022. Flight testing would begin in roughly 2019.

Aerion officials knew it would take a well-established original equipment manufacturer to complete the project, he said.

‘We couldn’t be more delighted with the choice of Airbus,’ Barents said. ‘We think that their footprint around the world is clearly going to help us as we develop the airplane.’

+3

Flight testing could begin on the supersonic jet as early as 2019 with it becoming available in 2021

Billionaire Bass has been open about his personal mission to offer the first business jet to fly faster than the speed of sound, a project begun in 2002.

Aerion, Chief Executive Officer Doug Nichols, told CNN:’The collaboration with Airbus was an essential piece in order to bring the expertise of a premier aircraft development concern into the fold.’

The U.S. forbids civilian planes from  the sound barrier – about 750 mph per hour – while flying overland due to noisy sonic booms, but the AS2 model will fly at subsonic speeds until it reaches the ocean, when it will speed up. Over Europe it can fly at supersonic speeds without detection.

A320neo makes maiden flight

Published in flightglobal.com, Sep 25, 2014

The Airbus A320neo has made its maiden flight, taking off from Toulouse at just past noon Central European Time. Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM-powered MSN6101 carried a crew of five. The type, also to be available with CFM International’s new Leap Engine, promises to cut fuel burn by 20% compared to standard A320s, owing to the new generation engines and aerodynamic improvements including Airbus’s sharklet wingtip extensions.

Airbus

To date, firm orders for the NEO stand at 3,257 aircraft from 60 customers.

Malaysia’s first A400M takes shape

By: GREG WALDRON, published in flightglobal.com, Sep 23, 2014

Airbus Defence and Space has released an image of the Malaysian air force’s first A400M tactical transport, and says the aircraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 2015.

The wing, tail plane, cockpit, fuselage and landing-gear have been joined in Seville, Spain and are ready for ground-testing, says Airbus in a statement.

Delivery in the first quarter of 2015 should allow the aircraft to attend Malaysia’s biennial Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition that runs from 17-21 March.

Malaysian pilots are in Europe training to operate the type. They will be joined by maintenance engineers and technicians in the coming weeks, says Airbus.

Malaysia, the only Asia Pacific customer for the A400M, has four examples on order. Airbus says it will receive three aicraft in 2015, and the final one in 2016.

Airbus Defence and Space